white noise
by KyhCad33
Summary: He talks and talks and talks despite the headphones on her head, hoping someday she'll start to listen. [fire emblem if; sakura x ?]


**A/N:** Yes, this is a Fire Emblem: If fanfic and yes, I know it isn't out yet. But hey, it's never to early to make a modern!AU. Never.

 **Title:** white noise  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Warning:** Modern AU; off-screen character death  
 **Genre/s:** Romance, Slice-of-Life  
 **Pairing/s:** Sakura x ?  
 **Summary:** He talks and talks and talks despite the headphones on her head, hoping someday she'll start to listen.  
 **Inspiration/s:** I...don't really know. I just wanted to write a Sakura x whoever story and BAM. Plot bunny.

Have fun!

 **I do not own Fire Emblem.**

* * *

She has headphones on.

The teacher introduces her as Sakura and tells her to sit at an empty seat. The class stares as she walks down the aisles, her head slung when she sits down beside him.

He stares too.

(long lashes, pale skin)

She's pretty.

The teacher's voice drones on. "Class, please turn to page 214 and... Sakura, you don't have your books yet, do you? Share with the person beside you."

She stays silent, not even looking up. In obligation, he puts their desks together and places the book in between them. He tells her it's nice to meet her.

For the rest of the class, she stares out the window.

* * *

"I don't get her."

He frowns.

"Yeah," his other friend says. "I mean, she doesn't talk to anyone. I saw one of the girls try and she just...ignored her."

"And she's always wearing those headphones. Like, is she serious? What's up with that?"

"Maybe she thinks she's better than us. You know, like those snobby rich kids."

He's glaring by now. Glancing at Sakura, he notes that she's staring out the window again.

"Why do you care so much?" he asks.

"...Well." His friend sighs. "Don't you think she's a little weird?"

There isn't even a pause. "No. I don't."

* * *

They have partner work for English class, but she still won't talk to him. Sakura doodles in her notebook instead; flowers, clouds, a house, a happy family of stickmen. He notes she spends much more time on the dad than the rest of them.

(rosy cheeks, dull eyes)

She's like a child.

"Sakura?" The headphones drown out his voice. "Sakura." He taps her arm, making her jump and stare at him. He's flustered. "Come on, let's do our work."

She stares.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Her eyebrows furrow and she turns away. The lines she draws are bolder than before.

He finishes their work in silence.

* * *

Sakura leaves the classroom when it's lunchtime nowadays, disappearing exactly when the bell signals the end of English.

He wonders.

* * *

In art, she's oddly tolerant, even when they get into pairs and sketch portraits.

He sees her smile for the first time with a joke he thought wasn't his best, but she likes it so he smiles too.

(later, his teacher comments on how he got the proportions all wrong: her neck is too wide, her ears are out of place, her nose doesn't look remotely possible—

—but he praises him for the model's expression, because she looks just like a maiden in love)

* * *

He sees her walking down the street with her headphones on, about to cross the street. He worries.

Pulling her to the side, he scolds her. "Hey, don't be rash," he chides. "That's dangerous."

There's fear in her gaze and his grip loosens.

"Look-" he starts. His words are chosen carefully. "-you're not a kid, Sakura. Pay attention to the road, or you might hurt yourself."

He hears music.

He tightens his hand around hers. Sakura's eyes widen.

"If you're not going to take care of yourself," he says, dragging her startled self along, "then _I'll_ do it for you."

He walks her to the next intersection, and the next and the next and the next before she stops. Looking back at her, Sakura points to the neighbourhood in the distance; it's a bit far away but there's no need to cross any more major roads. He lets go but his forehead still creases.

Those headphones bother him.

"Be safe," he says.

She nods slowly.

"I mean it."

She nods again.

He stares. He stares hard enough to see that her eyes have brightened and he's suddenly grateful. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Sakura nods one last time before walking home.

* * *

She greets him good morning.

(awkward smile, fidgeting hands)

He greets her back.

* * *

(she glances at him during class;

once, twice, thrice—

it's three times too much and she looks away)

* * *

People are starting to call her the Music Box Angel. The name's weird but he smiles anyway.

He finds out why when he sees her heading to the rooftop. He watches her sing.

Sakura looks ethereal with headphones around her neck.

He's subtle about it, but later in the day, he tells her that roses are blooming on her cheeks.

(raised eyebrows, goosebumps; she's smiling though)

* * *

"You take music?"

The conversation is rocky already. He cringes at his words.

Sakura only laughs—yes, yes she does—and asks him how he knew.

His laughter sounds like a breath of relief.

* * *

He bumps into her late at night—on the bridge, the one where he and his big sister used to fly paper planes—wearing only a thin sweater and battered-up sneakers. Her headphones are there though. That's how he recognizes her.

"Sakura?"

It's faint and he can't see too clearly, but her eyes light up in recognition.

He asks her what she's doing here. It's getting dark, too dark for a girl to be walking alone on the streets by herself.

She points out he's here too. He snorts.

"Groceries for dinner," he responds, raising a plastic bag for her to see. "And you?"

Pursing her lips, Sakura pushes past him and walks on by. He grabs her wrist.

They're silent for a moment.

"Come on, I'll walk you home."

She doesn't bother to resist.

* * *

He didn't know she had a sister.

Hinoka's at the doorframe by the time English ends, calling out for Sakura. "We have to go."

Sakura pauses, looks up for a second, and packs her things up. Hinoka strides into the classroom to help her with the rest of her stuff, carrying her sister's bag even though she's already got one on her shoulder.

Sakura leaves her sketchbook behind by accident. He shoves it in his bag and tells himself he'll give it to her next time.

* * *

She's not here.

Again.

And again.

And again.

* * *

A week passes by with no trace of Sakura.

He takes one look at her sketchbook and makes up his mind.

* * *

A minute after he rings the doorbell, a black-haired woman answers the door. He introduces himself as Sakura's friend.

"Her...friend?" The woman stares for a moment before smiling. "Is that so? Then I thank you for looking after my daughter."

She lets him in and says Sakura's in her room. He asks if she's okay.

"It's best if you ask her that yourself, dear."

She leads him to Sakura's room and knocks on the door. "Sakura? Someone came to visit you."

The other side is quiet.

"Sakura," he speaks up, "it's me."

This time, there's some shuffling. Her mother excuses herself and tells him she'll make them some tea. He waits at the door, listening to the knob jiggle but stop a second later.

He can feel her discomfort. "You missed a lot in the past week," he says.

"You got an eighty-seven on that English assignment we had a while ago.

"Felicia accidentally blurted out who she liked during homeroom.

"We have a Math test next week.

"Our basketball team made it to the finals."

It's small talk and he knows it, but doesn't know how to do better. He's rambling, rambling, rambling without any weight in his words.

He listens to the kettle whistle.

"...I have your sketchbook. I've been meaning to give it back, so I'll just leave it here-"

The door creaks. He looks up mid-kneel to see Sakura.

She's wearing headphones.

He notices they're not plugged.

* * *

"The tea tastes delicious."

Sakura nods. He takes another sip.

They sit there, drinking for who knows how long. It's six by the time he excuses himself, because it's dinnertime and his family will wonder.

Sakura stands up to see him out. He grabs her wrist.

"Why do you wear headphones?"

When Sakura looks at the floor, he takes them off and places his hands on her cheeks. In surprise, she tries to pry them away. He doesn't budge.

"Why haven't you been coming to school?" he asks.

Her grip only gets stronger.

(red eyes and eye bags)

He could probably guess why.

Gulping, he rests his thumbs underneath her eyes, wiping away invisible tears. "The roof feels lonely without you, you know," he whispers. There's a pause and he shakes his head. "No, that's not what I want to say. I-"

She hugs him. The words die in his mouth, but he supposes he doesn't need them anymore.

* * *

She comes back to school two days later.

As Sakura sits at her desk, she turns to him, says good morning, and asks if he'd like to drink tea again sometime.

He smiles. It'd be his pleasure to.

Beside him, his friends are whispering to themselves, eyebrows waving and lips twitched.

He tells them to shut up.

* * *

This time, it's chamomile. He recognizes the taste because his sister drinks it for breakfast sometimes.

Sakura's room is just like her; now that he's taken a good look at it, it reminds him of everything she is.

(quiet, organized, pristine—

—dull, monotone, but he likes it that way)

He sees a picture by her bedside: he recognizes her, Hinoka, and the black-haired woman. There's a boy that looks a few years older than him, and a man he assumes is her dad.

She catches him looking and says the man is dead.

* * *

Atherosclerosis.

 _(n.) A disease of the arteries characterized by the deposition of plaques of fatty material on their inner walls._

He has a hard time wrapping the pronunciation in his head. It takes an extra five minutes for the definition to sink in.

* * *

When he stares at his ceiling later that night, he thinks to himself, 'ah, that explains a lot'.

* * *

She still sings.

Every day, she sings a different song. Every day, he listens. He lies on his back and watches the clouds roll by as she sings around the rooftop.

It lulls him to sleep.

He's awoken by something gently patting his cheeks, and he's greeted by Sakura's face inches away from his.

He's blushing as his head hits the ground.

She's smiling as she tells him to get to class.

* * *

They're reciting poems at English. When it's Sakura's turn to talk, everyone is drawn towards her.

She speaks of a lone man's battle for redemption and freedom. Of peace and of living. It instantly clicks in his head who the subject is, and he's as enraptured in it as her.

(eyes wide, smile nostalgic; she's like a wife waiting for his return)

"He sounds like a brave man," he tells her when she sits back down.

He is, she agrees. He is.

* * *

Kamui takes him out shopping over the weekend. Not for him— _no way_ —but he's her gopher and he's got nothing better to do.

He's forced to carry around her bags as they go shop to shop. When he eyes a bookstore, he looks at Kamui.

She shakes her head but a smile's on her lips. "Go ahead. I'll be waiting right here."

"You sure?"

"There's a seat over there. I think I can wait."

He thanks his sister and heads inside.

* * *

Nothing sparks his interest, but there's a blue notebook that reminds him of the one Sakura has.

He buys it.

* * *

"You might want flowers to go with that. You know, chalk it up a bit. Buy some chocolates, or... Oh! I'll give you this nice headband I bought. It might suit her."

"Sis?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

He takes her advice because his sister's right.

Always is, always has been, and she squeals when she sees him buy a box of chocolate and some flowers (white chrysanthemums; he chose them on a whim).

* * *

At first, it felt like a dumb idea, but now that he's walking to Sakura's house with an armful of gifts, it just feels right.

He doesn't know why his feet take him to the bridge. It's the long way to her house, and it's totally inefficient, but to his surprise she's there.

Sakura's surprised too. She looks curiously at his hands and he flusters.

He flusters easier around her, he notices.

"Here," he says, shoving them in her face. That could've gone better and he blushes even more. "For you."

He can tell she's pleased when she gives him her thanks.

And a kiss on his cheek.

There's a short silence before he grins, and the two watch the sun set behind the clouds. The flowers smell wonderful. The back of her hand feels warm.

A short tug draws his attention. Sakura asks him to put the headband on her. With shaky fingers, it's a mess when he places it on her hair.

She giggles and thanks him again.

Another kiss.

He could get used to that.

"Why don't you take off your headphones, Sakura?" he asks.

She tells him not to worry about that; she's still listening to what he's saying. She tells him she started listening a long time ago.

Taking everything in, he holds her hand. There's no music. White chrysanthemums fill the air instead. "Let's go home."

Sakura looks at him.

(pretty, quiet, perfect)

She smiles and places her headphones around her neck. He laughs back.

"Okay," Sakura says. "Okay."

* * *

 **A/N:** Most of the content in the story is merely headcanon (e.g. I think fem!Kamui's a tea person). The characterization could be _completely_ different from their actual personalities in-game too, so if there are any inconsistencies later on, sorry.

And no, I wasn't trying to be artsy with a lack of a name for the male lead; I just don't know the Nohrian Book Bro/Blarth's name yet (and yes, he's canonically the main guy). Despite this, you can imagine it's Marx or Saizou or whatever, since there's, well, no name.

Also, the song "sort of" mentioned in the story is Pay No Mind by Madeon ft. Passion Pit. It's what Sakura was singing during the first rooftop scene.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
